Fatherhood
by xB2UTY
Summary: After Lily is killed and Harry is claimed the Boy Who Lived, James, Sirius, and Remus are left to raise Harry without a woman’s intuition. Chaos ensues, pranksters get their due, and Harry is a genius.
1. Chapter 1

Fatherhood

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry or the marauders, I am just a fan.

Summary: After Lily is killed and Harry is claimed the Boy Who Lived, James, Sirius, and Remus are left to raise Harry without a woman's intuition. Chaos ensues, pranksters get their due, and Harry is a genius.

Warnings: Very mild slash (Sirius/Remus! ^_^). I don't think there's much else other than that…

The first chapter is a bit depressing, but it'll get better.

Chapter One

James felt his heart drop as he saw the house in shambles. The wards had been broken through and the smell of fire penetrated the air. Without thinking, James rushed into the house. His feet carried him up the staircase and into Harry's nursery. The sight that greeted him was horrifying. There lying on the ground was Lily, dead. The life sucked out of her vibrant green eyes which now only held emptiness. Next to her lie a strange pile of ash and James immediately thought of the worse.

Just as he was about to break down, a whimper broke his thoughts. Slowly, he moved towards the crib. His heart was filled with hope once he saw his son staring up at him, alive. There was a jagged scar, shaped like a lightening bolt on his forehead, but other than that Harry looked to be fine. James reached in and scooped the baby up into his arms. He held Harry to himself tightly, thanking Merlin that his child was alright.

The unmistakable pops from Apparating were heard outside. Soon people were rushing into the house. James heard someone come into the room and gasp, but he didn't pay them any mind. He held onto Harry for dear life, sobbing heartbrokenly at the loss of his wife. He felt someone put their hand on his shoulder and he slowly looked up into Sirius' concerned gray eyes.

"I'm sorry, James. I'm so sorry." Sirius whispered. With that James collapsed to the floor and sat on his knees. Harry's little arms wrapped around James neck in an attempt to comfort him. Although, Harry didn't understand what was going on, he knew his daddy was hurting and needed some reassurance. "C'mon, let's get him out of here." Sirius said to Remus who had also come in.

The two men hoisted James up and dragged him out of the room. They stood outside of the house waiting for Dumbledore, who had gone in, to come back out. Dumbledore came out, looking grave. His eyes no longer held their regular twinkle and a frown marred his old face. He pat the still sobbing James' shoulder and tried to smile reassuringly at the young man, but failed.

"Come, my boy, let's let the Aurors handle things here. There is much to discuss back in my office." Dumbledore said. He turned and motioned for the Aurors to go into the house. They frowned sympathetically at James before going inside. The remaining four, plus little Harry, Apparated to Hogsmeade. A tense silence hung over them as they walked to Hogwarts, but James was thankful for it; he didn't think his voice would work properly if he tried to speak.

Harry, after all of the excitement that night, had fallen asleep in James' arms and was now resting peacefully, oblivious of the depressing atmosphere around him. They arrived at Hogwarts and Dumbledore led them through the corridors to his office. He said the password to the Gargoyle guarding his office and it immediately jumped out of the way, revealing the spiraling stairs to his office. They made their way up and once they were there, Dumbledore went to sit behind his desk and motioned for them to take a seat.

"Lemon drop?" He offered, holding out the bowl of yellow candies. The three marauders answered him with a glare. "Alright, more for me." He popped one of them into his mouth and smiled. James, Sirius, and Remus started becoming agitated as Dumbledore just sat there enjoying his candy.

"Well?" Sirius grounded out, glaring at the man.

"Ah, yes, of course." Dumbledore said, acting as if he had forgotten why he had taken them here in the first place. "It seems that that pile of ash on the floor was in fact, Lord Voldemort." The other three men paled. "James, if I may, can I see Harry?" He asked. James nodded. He stood up and walked over to Dumbledore to hand Harry to the old man. Dumbledore cradled the small infant in his arm, looking apprehensive. He hummed, his eyes going to the jagged scar on Harry's forehead. He pulled his wand out and cast a healing spell over it; the blood disappeared but the scar was still there. He ran a few more spells and hummed.

"What is it?" James asked worriedly.

Dumbledore smiled at him and handed Harry back to him. "It would seem that young Harry here is the one who defeated the Dark Lord." James looked down at the sleeping child, unable to believe that a mere child of one defeated one of the Darkest Lords the wizarding world had ever seen. "The scar on his forehead was created by Dark Magic which is why it won't heal. Lord Voldemort had unknowingly marked Harry as his equal and when Voldemort returns, Harry will be the only person able to defeat him. Harry is the Boy Who Lived."

"B-but that's impossible! He's just a child! You can't expect him to defeat the Dark Lord!" Remus said as he and Sirius stood up abruptly.

"He's right, Dumbledore. I'm not letting Harry anywhere near this war." James said sternly. "I've already lost Lily to this war; I'm not losing Harry as well."

"I understand your concern, James, but what's done is done. As of now, Harry is the only one with the power to defeat Voldemort." Just as James was about to start yelling at the old man, Dumbledore cut him off. "Now, I'm not saying to throw Harry headfirst into the war, no. Let him grow up as a normal child with no worry of war, but when the time comes, tell him. I know this hard for you, James and I don't expect you to be willing to do so, but you never know it might be many years before Voldemort resurfaces."

James nodded, trying to digest it all. He didn't like the idea of Harry being anywhere near the war, let alone in it and wished that there were some other way. After that, James and Harry left with Sirius and Remus to the small flat they owned together. James didn't want to be alone that night; he needed someone to occupy his thoughts so they didn't go back to Lily.

Once there, James let Remus take Harry from his arms and take him to the guest bedroom. James and Sirius sat on the couch both unsure what they should do. Sirius finally got up and headed to the kitchen. A few minutes later, after rummaging through the kitchen, Sirius came back with a bottle of Firewhiskey and three glasses (one incase Remus decided to have some when he got back). He poured a glass and pushed it into James' hands.

"Drink up. It's been a tough night and you need it." Sirius said, before drinking his own glass down. James stared down at the liquid then lifted it up to his lips and drank it all.

Meanwhile, Remus was in the guest bedroom, transfiguring a book into a crib for Harry. The crib was moved to the corner opposite of the bed which had already been in there. He carefully set Harry down into the crib, and smiled down softly at the infant. He quietly left the room and went back into the living room where James was already on his third glass of Firewhiskey. Four hours later, after drinking themselves stupid, the three marauders decided it was time to head up to bed.

James stumbled to the guest room while Sirius and Remus headed to their own bedroom down the hall. He went over to the crib Harry was sleeping in and smiled with teary eyes. He ran his fingers through Harry's messy hair which was so much like his own. "It's just you and I now, Harry." He whispered. "We'll get through this." With his resolve hardened, James headed to the bed on the other side of the room and went to sleep.

--

Aw, I feel so bad for James *sadness*. Anyways, if you enjoyed this chapter, please review! Ja ne!


	2. Chapter 2

Fatherhood

Disclaimer: I own nothing! I am but a lowly soul…

Warnings: Mild slash.

*Sniff* I actually started crying as I wrote this chapter TT-TT Anyways, this chapter was inspired by 'Vanilla Twilight' by Owl City and 'Let Go' by Boys Like Girls.

Chapter Two

James could barely stand it as Lily's coffin was lowered into the ground. His grip around Harry tightened and he nuzzled his face into the boy's soft locks of hair, trying to keep the tears at bay. It seemed the whole world was crashing down on him at that moment. Lily was truly gone, she wasn't coming back. He'd just barely had gotten her into his grasp, after years of pining her after her and trying to gain her love, and now she was gone. Life seemed to have no meaning anymore, except Harry. Harry was the only thing that anchored him to this world and kept him from falling into oblivion. Harry, his son, his pride and joy, needed him more than ever now.

Pressing a kiss to his son's forehead, James garnered the courage to look back up. The time had come for them to say their last goodbyes. He and Harry walked up to the grave first, and James managed a sad smile for his wife. "You did it, Lils, you saved our Harry. He's fine now, a happy little baby just as he should be." He stated, tears glistening in his eyes. "I just hope I'll raise him the way you wanted him to be. Don't worry, I'll try to keep the Marauder stuff toned down a bit and we've got Moony, so I'm sure Harry will be a know-it-all in no time." He chuckled. "We'll miss you, Lils. I'll make sure Harry grows up knowing how much you loved him and how proud of him you were. I love you with all my heart and I always will." The tears spilled over then, cascading down his cheeks and on to Harry. He smiled down at Harry. "Go on, Harry, give mummy the flower."

Seeming to understand his father, Harry gurgled happily and dropped the lily he had been clutching onto into the grave. After Harry gave his own gurgled goodbye, the two left to let Sirius and Remus, who were next, say their goodbyes and then so on and so forth. Even the greasy git, Snivellus was there to say his goodbyes. James had been sorely tempted to not even _invite _the dour man to Lily's funeral, but had thought better of it. Lily would've wanted her friend there, even if James didn't like him. James considered this to be a huge feat on his part; Gryffindor courage only went so far. He had even invited Lily's sister Petunia and her fat whale of a husband; of course, he wasn't really surprised when the two hadn't shown up. He thought perhaps the petty jealously and contempt Petunia held for her sister, would disappear once she learned of her sister's death, but it seemed he was mistaken.

Collapsing into one of the seats, James smiled sadly at his son who was making a grab for his glasses. James chuckled when Harry managed to poke him in the eye. Rearranging the glasses onto his face, James chastised Harry lightly, "Don't mess with Daddy's glasses, I'll go even more blind than I already am." Harry quirked his head to the side curiously before smiling and garbling in his own baby language, which only Lily had really been able to understand. She would sometimes speak the strange made up language back to Harry and the two would have their own little conversation about who knows what. James hadn't understood it very well, but he had enjoyed watching them both, making weird noises and chatting like their was no tomorrow.

James pulled Harry to his chest, hugging the infant close to him, as people started coming up to them to give their condolences. It was all he could do to not start sobbing there on the spot. He had to stay strong, for Harry. People gathered around them, each wishing them well and telling them that they were sorry for their loss. Eventually, after the grave was sealed up for good, the funeral-goers slowly scattered away, and Sirius and Remus had to haul him away. He was lucky to have friends like Remus and Sirius who, over the course of his time staying with them in their apartment, had put up with his moodiness and had taken care of Harry when the depression just became too much. He knew he couldn't keep free-loading off of them forever, they each had their own lives and didn't need to put up with him.

"Here, let me take Harry." Remus said, reaching out for the infant. "You go to the bathroom and wash up."

"Yea, you look like crap." Sirius interjected.

"Sirius!" Remus snapped.

"What? It's true, besides, you were thinking it too!" Sirius defended.

"Harry's a baby! You don't want him learning words like that!"

"Oh please, Harry's not going to remember that. He's still in the baby-talk phase."

James chuckled as the two continued to argue and handed Harry over to Remus. He didn't doubt Sirius' words, he probably did look like crap. He was wearing glamour charms so as to hide the dark bags under his eyes and he had cried quite a bit, so his eyes were probably all red and puffy. As James went into the bathroom and started washing his face, he gave a jump as a loud boom erupted from the kitchen. He quickly rushed out, expecting the worse, and held out his wand. But, when the pink smoke that filled the kitchen dispersed, James burst out laughing, the first real laugh he'd had since Lily had died.

Harry was sitting on the counter, holding Remus' wand and giggling madly. Sirius had been transformed into a clown with an afro that was every color of the rainbow, a big red nose, make-up that made him look as if he was permanently smiling, and the most ridiculous outfit James had ever seen. Although Sirius' get-up seemed pretty bad, Remus' was worse, much worse. A pink tutu with tights and matching ballerina slippers, was what Remus was wearing. His hair was tied up into a pony-tail and the poor werewolf was blushing like a tomato. They reminded him of the muggle storybook that Lily had gotten Harry not too long ago that had something to do with a circus (whatever that was).

Sirius erupted in laughter and fell to the floor, clutching his stomach with one hand and pointing at Remus with the other. Remus glared heatedly at him. Snatching away Sirius' wand, Remus made it so Sirius was wearing a tutu as well. "It's not so funny now, is it? How do you like wearing a tutu?"

"Well, for one thing, I obviously don't have the legs for it. It looks much better on you, Remy." Sirius replied, his eyes traveling up over Remus' legs. Remus' blush, if possible, deepened. Frowning, Remus changed his clothes back to normal and stalked away from Sirius to go pick up Harry. "Hey! What about me?" Sirius asked, after realizing that Remus wouldn't change him back and still had his wand.

"What about you?" Remus asked back, stopping to turn back and look at Sirius.

"Aren't you going to change me back?"

"Hm," Remus pondered for a moment before looking down at Harry. "What do you think, Harry? Should we change him back?" Harry gurgled happily back. "I agree completely." Remus replied.

"What? He didn't say anything!" Sirius exclaimed.

"You heard him, Sirius, it looks like you're staying that way." Remus smirked.

"B-but…"

"Anyways, you don't mind if I take Harry out shopping, do you, James?" Remus asked, turning to said man. "We need some food for dinner tonight."

"Sure, sure." James replied.

"Good," Remus smiled. "And don't you change Sirius back either. Just go and rest, I know you've had a tough day, it's been tough for all of us."

James nodded, smiling gratefully to his friend. He was truly thankful for the friends he had, without them he didn't think he'd be able to get himself out of the rut he put himself in. The day had worn him out and he honestly just wanted to burrow himself into his bed and sleep. Walking up to Remus, he ruffled Harry's hair and kissed the infant on the forehead. "Be a good boy for Uncle Moony, alright?"

Harry just smiled and reached out to pat James' face. Looking at Harry's smile, James knew everything would be alright; they would make it through this.

* * *

TT-TT I listened to too much sad music to make this. The next chapter is going to be a time skip! Just a few years because I love cute kid Harry stories! Kya~ I just wanna hug him! Anyways, if you enjoyed this chapter please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Fatherhood

Disclaimer: You know the drill peoples: I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form.

Hey guys, sorry for taking so long to update. I know, I know, its been so long and some of you will probably be confused when you receive your e-mail due to the fact that I've changed my pen-name so many times. Anyways, in reply to one of my reviewers who I didn't get a chance to reply before and for anyone who's wondering: Sorry, but no, I will not keep the Sirius/Remus slash out of my story. I'm sorry if slash just isn't your thing, but if it truly bothers you please go ahead and find another story to your liking or skip over it if it comes up.

So yea, this story will contain slash and just to be on the safe side, I don't know whether I'll slash other characters or not yet, so be warned. If you don't like slash, leave now. This will be your final warning. Otherwise, enjoy~!

Chapter Three

Peals of laughter fell from the five year old's lips as he raced down the hallway. Ducking into one of the rooms, he paused for a moment to catch his breath before slyly peeking out the door and looking down both sides of the hallway. He grinned when he saw that no one was there. His victory was short-lived as invisible hands grabbed him from behind, startling him. Harry squealed happily as his father picked him up and spun him around.

"That's not fair," Harry pouted after James placed him back on the ground, eyeing his father's invisibility cloak.

James ruffled his son's hair and chuckled. "Sure it's fair. Sorry kiddo, but no where in the rules does it say I can't." He exclaimed. Then he grinned, "And even if it did, I wouldn't have listened anyway." He added in a whisper causing Harry to giggle. "Now, Mr. Potter, are you ready to surrender?"

"Never!" Harry cried defiantly.

"Then you leave me no choice!" James announced. Harry's eyes widened when James reached for him and he didn't have enough time to escape before James had him pinned to the floor and was tickling his sides mercilessly. Harry's body shook with laughter as James continued his "attack". "Surrender you fiend! And I might just let you go!"

Harry giggled uncontrollably as he swat at his father's hands and tried to struggle out of James's grip. "I-I give in!" The five year old cried out between laughs. James grinned in triumph and stopped his assault. Harry stayed on the ground a while longer, resting as he tried to calm his breathing down. Once Harry was breathing normally again, James grasped his son's hand and helped Harry to his feet.

"C'mon, kiddo, let's go take that bath." James said.

"Aw, do I have to?" Harry whined, staring up at his dad with puppy-dog eyes.

"Yes," James replied. "But, the sooner you get it done, the sooner you can get to sleep and the closer you'll be to having fun with Ron and Neville tomorrow." He explained. Harry pouted, eventually huffing out a sigh in defeat. With a quivering lip, he allowed his dad to lead him to the bathroom. Soon, the dreaded bath was done and James was helping Harry get ready for bed. James got Harry settled into his bed and tucked the five year old in, before going to shut the curtains.

"Will you tell me a story?" Harry asked quietly as James walked back over to him.

James smiled, sitting down next to Harry and being careful not to sit on the boy's legs. "Sure, what story would you like to hear?" He inquired as he carefully removed Harry's glasses to place them on the bedside table.

"The one about the princess." Harry replied, yawning a bit.

James's expression softened as he heard this and he leaned down to press a kiss to Harry's forehead. "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess with long red hair and green-green eyes…" The story continued on, telling of the princess's many adventures and of the stubborn prince who pursued her for many years before finally earning her love. It didn't take Harry long to fall asleep to the sound of his father's voice. James smiled down at his little boy, before pulling up Harry's covers and making sure the boy was tucked in. Pressing a kiss to Harry's forehead, James left the bedroom quietly and trekked down the hallway to his own.

Later that night, James was jerked from his peaceful sleep when he felt someone move into his bed with him. Blinking, he reached for his glasses on his bedside table and hastily put them on. He was met with the sight of a teary eyed Harry lying next to him, clutching the little wolf doll his Uncle Moony had given him for his birthday.

"Harry?"

"C-can I sleep with you?" Harry sniffled.

"'Course you can." James replied sleepily. Carefully pulling the blanket out from underneath Harry, he covered his son with it and pulled the boy close to him. Harry sniffled some more, snuggling up against his father until he was comfortable. "Get some sleep, kiddo. I'll be right here." Harry nodded quietly and was soon sleep again. James however was a different story. He listened to Harry's quiet breaths as the child slept assured that his son was safe in his arms.

Harry had been getting nightmares as of late. James had been worried, but had constantly been reminded that children got nightmares and it was nothing out of the ordinary. However, that had changed when Harry explained to him that the recurring nightmare was of a woman screaming, a green light, and a cruel laugh. James had been shaken to the core when Harry told him that. To think Harry remembered such a thing, it frightened him honestly. Remus and Sirius had been equally horrified when he told them.

Remus had said Harry might eventually grow out of it and soon come to forget the awful memory, but there was no telling for sure. He sure hoped his friend was right; Harry shouldn't have to suffer like that, things like that should be the farthest thing from the five year old's mind. Harry should be thinking of ways to dupe him into buying a training broom, or planning new pranks to play on his Uncle Siri; not having to worry about something that happened when he was one. James fully intended for Harry not to have to worry about those things until he was absolutely forced to confront it.

Shaking his head, James decided the middle of the night definitely was not the time to be thinking of such things. Things would be better tomorrow, and Harry would forget all about his nightmare when he got to the Weasley's house.

…

"C'mon, dad!" Harry exclaimed as he tugged James up the walk to the Burrow.

James chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming, I'm coming," he said, grinning. He wasn't surprised when he saw a red-head run out to greet them, well, to greet Harry. Ron, who was one of Harry's best friends, was just about to drag Harry away when his mother, Molly stepped out of the house.

"Ron!" The Weasley matriarch yelled, causing said boy to freeze up. "What do you say?" She asked as she reached them.

Ron looked up at him, his face almost as red as his hair. "Thank you for bringing, Harry, Mr. Potter." He said politely.

"You're welcome, Ron. Now you two go on and play." James said. Without another word, Ron whisked Harry off to go play, while James followed Molly into the house.

"How are you, James?" Molly inquired as they sat themselves down at the dining table. Waving her wand a bit, she levitated a tray of tea and biscuits from the kitchen and began serving the tea.

"About as well as I can be." James replied. "How about you, Molly?"

"Wonderful," she smiled. "It's been so nice to have Bill and Charlie back home for the summer, and having the whole family here. It hasn't been the same since Bill first started going to Hogwarts and then, suddenly, Charlie was whisked away, too. Soon, Percy will be joining them at Hogwarts as well. They all grow up so fast." She sighed resignedly. "Are you excited for the school year, James? Charlie has been gushing about what a great professor you are and Bill says you're the first competent DADA teacher he's had in his five years there."

"Well, I don't know... While I enjoyed it, I don't think I—"

"James," she firmly interrupted, placing her hand on top of his. "Harry will understand if you continue being the DADA professor. He loves you and only wants you to be happy. Besides, Harry loves Hogwarts and he needs to get out more. I know you only want to protect him, but, he's a growing boy and sheltering him like this will only make him come to resent you." She explained softly. "I should know, I tried doing the same with Bill. I didn't want to let him go either. Now look at him, he wants to grow up as fast as he can to get as far as way from me as he can manage. Even got his ear pierced and won't take it out no matter how hard I ask him to. It's starting to get better, but I can tell he still holds it against me."

James thought back to his past school year teaching at Hogwarts. It was the first time since Lily died that he had spent long periods of time separated from Harry. Dumbledore had been trying to convince him to take up the DADA post since he had dropped out from the Aurors. He couldn't have such a dangerous, life-threatening job anymore, not when Harry needed him so. Harry was his top priority now and he had enough money that he needn't worry about ever working again.

However, after much persisting, he had finally caved into Dumbledore's request last summer. He found, much to his delight, that he truly enjoyed the job. There was no greater gratification than knowing he had taught someone something useful, something they could protect themselves with. The only downside was that he didn't get to spend as much time as he would have liked with Harry.

He knew Harry seemed content to roam around Hogwarts in the invisibility cloak and spook students or hang around with some of the other professors during their free periods, but how long would that last? How soon would it be until Harry grew bored of doing such things?

...

"Did you bring it?" Ron asked excitedly.

"Shh! Of course I did!" Harry whispered as he glanced around, to make sure no one else could hear them. Grinning, he took out his father's invisibility cloak. Ron and Neville looked at the shimmering cloak in awe, watching as Harry threw it over his shoulders and disappeared from sight. They both jumped, however, when Harry reappeared behind them. "Wicked, right?"

Ron and Neville nodded in agreement, both grinning like loons.

"Well, what about you two?"

Harry watched as the other two boys dug through their pockets and pulled out several dung bombs.

Perfect.

* * *

Woo! One update down, a gazillion more to go. Thank you guys so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Next chapter, we'll be playing some pranks and stuff.


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